February 5, 2003
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My Life, Mapped Before Me
And Other Reasons Why I Want to be an Architect
I have finally figured everything out. Well schooling-wise that is. Until recently I wasn't sure how long I'd be going to school, I wasn't sure how much it would cast in the long run. I just wanted to go to school. Now, however, I have finally decided on my educational destiny....Architecture.
My mother worked as the Secretary to the Dean of Architecture at a local technical University. She had tons of friends who were Architects/professors. One such friend, Ted, told me one day.."Turtle, Don't EVER go into Architecture, the pay sucks and you have to do what other people tell you to do, no creative outlet, whatsoever." So I told him, "You don't have to worry, I have no desire to be an Architect!" Well that was about 12-13 years ago and here I am deciding that I want my Bachelor's in Fine Arts (Interior Architecture & Design) and a Master's in Architecture.
I sat down with my trusty calculator and figured up that if I can take on 3 extra classes a year (2 in summer semester and one during Winter intersession) then I can graduate in about 5 years. I'll be 30. Then I can go to University that my mother used to work at and take night classes for Architecture, or if I'm lucky they'll offer some online classes. If that doesn't work, then I'll just apply at Georgia Tech, I figure if I keep my 4.0 for 5 years and graduate with honors then GT *might* take me.
Why do I want to be an Architect? Why because! You get to buy all sorts of COOL ASS TOYS!!! like;
Antique Drafting Set at eBay..I can't bid on it but I want it!
OR
Antique Drafting Table also, on eBay...nope not bidding on that either.
Ok, so now you're saying, "Wow what a superficial 'HO! To just want to go into a profession so that she can buy cool things, she should be a personal shopping or lackey or something!"...Well, ok, I could probably go the personal shopper route, but nahh those women would drive me batshit! Besides, even if I were to just get my degree in IAD I still would have to have all this cool shit!
Why do I really want to be an Architect? Well, it's calming, to me, to design something from just an idea or concept. I love to sketch it out and figure out all the kinks and strong points. And I just LOVE (with a capital LOVE) designing things. And, well I'm not going to be a traditional Architect, I'll be an interior designer just with architecture knowledge...ya know like Vern, only Vernette! It just makes sense to me that if I am going to be an interior architect, I might want to know about architecture in general...don't ya think?? Besides, people will hire me if I tell them, Oh I have a master's in Architeecture, but my bachelor's is in Interior Design..."Why Mrs. Turtle, YOU'RE HIRED!!" And besides, I'll be working for myself basically (not going with a design group or anything) and I'm sure that I won't get many clients but hey....I'll have knowledge that will come in VERY handy when we want to design our dream house and when all my friends start doing remodels, I can help them! or something....I don't know I'm drunk with the happiness of finally having an educational plan to my life..yay me!
Now, to just figure out that career path..hmmmmm
Comments (7)
Yay! It's always good to have a plan...I just have trouble sticking to it...but good luck
You'll be awesome at whatever you decide to do.
30 is a young age to get your master's, when you look at my time scale - I'll be 34 before I finish my Bachelor's! Go for it - the satisfaction is what you need, and buying the cool stuff is a reasonable perk~ =-)
I work with surveyors, and we have some neat things upstairs in storage - old mylar plans on sticks, even some old plans printed on linen! There's a few antique pieces of surveyor's equipment, and even an old drafting set on display along the hall. Very cool stuff!
You would've loved my high school. I went to this high school for dorks and geeks and we had drafting classes, learned autocad and all that other good stuff. I was a civil engineering major and let me tell ya, building a bridge out of balsa wood is really relevant to my current lifestyle. lol
You should follow your heart and do what you WANT to do, not what will make you the most money, etc. I'm fighting that battle. I know the Graphic Design field is flooded right now, but why should I give up my dream just because it's a popular field? Let's just hope it works out. Kelly and I sat down and discussed my tuition last night. He's a little freaked out, too, about how much my education costs. I, too, will be 30 after finishing my bachelor's degree. We're in this together! ~Andi
Drunk with happiness is the best kind! I love architecture, good luck! BTW-"Cost Plus World Market" has a really nice drafting table for right around $100.
-M
Isn't it great to figure that stuff out?? I've figured out which BA I'm getting, but now I still need to figure out the grad school part--LOL. It sounds like architecture will be a great fit for you!
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